Damn it—turns out even an Alpha’s body can’t completely withstand this choking smoke. Suddenly, Aiden shoved his towel into my hands and said calmly, “Use mine.” I immediately shook my head and pushed it back at him. “We’re not that close. I’m not using something you already put your mouth on.” Without another word, Aiden pressed the towel firmly to my face. “I’m not saying it again.” As I inhaled through the damp cloth, my coughing eased almost instantly. His towel had a faint minty scent—probably the same kind of toothpaste he always used. Wait... Would this count as an indirect kiss? I gave my head a small shake. Seriously, Raelynn? You're still daydreaming at a time like this? We hadn’t made it far when I suddenly felt Aiden stumble behind me and drop to a crouch. “Aiden, are you okay?” He kept his head low, saying nothing, just giving my wrist a small squeeze to say he was fine. But I could feel it—his breathing was way weaker than normal. I immediately turned around and grabbed his wrist. He moved, trying to pull away, but I whispered, “Aiden, don’t fall behind.” He didn’t struggle anymore and let me take his hand. Step by step, we made it to the ground floor together. Everyone had gotten out. I let go of Aiden and looked up at the building. The fire had broken out just below Eclipse Corporation’s offices. The flames were raging now. If we’d been even a little later, we wouldn’t have made it out. “This fire came out of nowhere. I’d bet anything it was Zane’s doing. That bastard.” Just saying his name made my blood boil. “We’ll figure it out once the investigation’s done…” Aiden started to say, but then suddenly collapsed to the ground. I spun around to catch him—and froze when I saw the massive burn on his shoulder. The skin was raw and torn, fabric melted into flesh. It looked awful. I gasped. “Aiden, when did you get burned? Why didn’t you say anything?” He’d been behind me the entire way down. He must’ve gotten burned near the floor that was actually on fire. And he never made a sound—just powered through it. Guilt hit me hard. “It wasn’t worth mentioning,” he said flatly. “Not worth mentioning?! Aiden, do you even care about your body? Do you really think you’re invincible or something?” He looked at me, anger burning in my eyes, and just gave a faint smile. No explanation. No argument. When the ambulance arrived, I dropped the scolding and helped get him loaded up with the medics. We rushed to the nearest hospital. In the emergency room, the doctor examined his wound with a deep frown. “This burn is pretty severe,” he said seriously. “And since you’re not an Alpha, your healing rate isn’t as strong. Even if it heals, it’ll definitely scar. I’ll prescribe some topical treatments that may help lighten it.” “It’s just a scar,” Aiden replied without flinching. “Doesn’t matter.” I looked at his injured back for a moment, then said, “Aiden, I can make sure that scar completely disappears.” “You can?” he asked after a pause. I nodded. I wasn’t bluffing—I had a special remedy, made specifically for burns like this. Back when I was expanding Shadow Pack territory, I once saved a brilliant doctor by accident. He ended up taking me in as a student. This salve came from him. The doctor scoffed. “Young lady, I get you’re desperate to help your boyfriend or whatever, but making stuff up won’t help him.” I ignored the “boyfriend” comment and replied seriously, “I’m not making it up.”The doctor’s voice turned mocking. “Miss, be honest—you don’t look like someone with medical training. Even if you were, modern medicine can’t heal burns like that. Period.” “Just because you can’t do it,” I said evenly, “doesn’t mean others can’t. Your view is a little… limited.” That struck a nerve. He laughed coldly. “You better be careful what you say. Words have consequences.” “I understand, Doctor.” He narrowed his eyes at me, clearly annoyed. “You really don’t know your place, do you? Where on earth do you get this kind of confidence?” “If you don’t believe me,” I said with a grin, “let’s make a bet. If I can’t heal the scar, I’ll apologize. But if I can…” “I’ll retire on the spot,” he cut in. “No need for anything that drastic. Just give me a rare medicinal herb,” I replied lightly. The doctor blinked. “Why would you want that?” “I have my reasons. So, do we have a deal or not?” He stared at me for a few seconds, then nodded. “And if you fail?” “I’ll donate ten million to your hospital,” I said with a smile. The doctor gave a harsh little laugh. “Fine. Deal.” “Great.” I reached into my pocket and pulled out a porcelain-white bottle. Both the doctor and Aiden looked at it curiously. It was completely transparent, glowing faintly in the light. I opened the bottle, then motioned for Aiden to turn around. I gently poured the green salve onto his burn and started rubbing it in carefully with my hand. “You’re... you’re putting that on his wound?” the doctor said, startled. “Mr. Aiden, I won’t take responsibility if this goes wrong.” Aiden shook his head. “It’s fine, Doctor. I trust her.”